Photo of 2C3D camera displaying tactile image of a man's face.
News

2C3D: A Tactile Camera

A 3D camera for the blind?!

This innovative camera instantly displays the image as a 3D tactile image using small push up pins inspired by ‘Pin Toy”. The original Pin Toy art, patented in 1987, consisting of a boxed surface made of an array of pins that slide in and out to create a three-dimensional sculpture. Press your hand, face or object to the back of the surface and the pins are pushed forward to create a raised 3-D image.

The 2C3D tactile camera is a handheld video camera slightly larger than your hand. The left side of the camera has a circular pin array that displays a 3D tactile image in real time. Film a person walking from left to right and 2C3D camera will display that person moving across the pin array. Snap a photo of a person’s face and then feel the 3D image of that person’s face. Save the photo to feel the 3D image again.

Learn more about the 2C3D camera here.

This camera is currently under development and not available for purchase.

Could this 3D camera be used to create accessible graphics in the classroom, such as charts and graphs?

By Diane Brauner

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